Wearing apparel



April 19, 1932. R. L. BARKER WEARING APPAREL 'Filed Nov. 24, 1930 inverwosj L A UH'QFHQHS.

Patented Apr. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAYMOND I. BARKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS WEARING APPAREL Application filed November 24, 1930. Serial No. 497,719.

My invention relates to wearing apparel and particularly to bathing suits, and it has for its object to provide a novel arrangement of parts by which a design may be printed on the skin of the wearer by reason of the contrasting color of the uncovered portion as compared with that of the covered portion after exposure to sunlight. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide an arrangement of this type which shall not inconvenience the wearer, being preferably made so as to be readily removable and so as to be capable of being easily replaced into its original position from time to time.

It is one of the objects of my invention to improve arrangements of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which I have accomplished my several objects are illustrated in the drawings and are hereinafter specifically described. That which I believe to be new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 shows the preferred form of my improved garment in operative printing position upon the body of a wearer indicated diagrammatically by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 shows a fragmentary portion of the garment as shown in Fig. 1 but illustrating a modified form of construction;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken at line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a back face view of a modified form of garment, partly broken away.

Referring'now to Fig. 1, 10 indicates the body portion of a garment which in the drawings is illustrated as the upper portion of a bathing suit, such body portion 10 being held in position upon the body of the wearer by means of straps 11, 12, 13 and 14. In the form shown, the fabric of the suit is cut away to provide an opening 15, in which opening there is inset a printing member 16 held 1n position by a line of stitching 17. In the form. shown, the printing member 16 is in the form of a piece of fabric of any approved type having a design 18 of any approved form therein, the design 18 in the construction shown being in the form of a stencil.

As will be readily understood, when the garment comprising the body portion 10 and the straps 11, 12, 13 and 14 has a close fit upon the body of the wearer, the printing member 16 is held firmly in fixed posit-ion so as to cause the production of a sharply defined design upon the back of the wearer corresponding to the stencil or other form of design 18' in the member 16. When the garment is worn later and is adjusted into normal position, the design again will be held in the same position upon the body of the wearer.

In the form of device as shown in Figs.

. 2 and 3, the body portion of the bathing suit best shown at the top in Fig. 2, the arra'ngement being such that the knitted ring 24 is stretchable so as to permit the insertion of a printing member 26 therein, such printing member 26 being formed of some stiff opaque material so as to be held securely in position by the ring 24. The printing member 26 is provided with any appropriate form of design such as the stenciled lettering indicated by the numeral 27 or of any other desired form.

In the form shown in Fig. 4, the body of the suit is indicated by the numeral 28, held in position by shoulder straps 29 and 30. The fabric of the body portion 28 is provided with an opening 31 over which is secured a printing member 32 having a design 33 therein, the design member 32 being held releasably in position upon the body portion 28 by means of snap buttons 34.

By the use of my improved form of garment equipped with the printing member as shown, I have provided means for printing upon any desired portion of the body any desired form of design. By reason of my improved arrangement, the design is interchangeable to meet the desires of the wearer. The arrangement is such that the presence of the design in the suit causes no discomfort whatever to the wearer, being removable with the suit, while still being efiiective for the desired purpose. When the printing member is fastened in operative position in a close fitting garment, the design can be reproduced gradually upon the body of the wearer by repeated exposure to the sun rays of that portion of the body covered by the printing member because the printing mem her will be in substantially the same position on the body each time the garment is worn.

While I prefer to employ the forms of device as shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited thereto except as the claims are so limited by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a device of the type described, the combination of a printing member having cut-out portions forming a predetermined design, a garment having an opening corresponding to said member, and means for holding said member in said opening in fixed position relative to said garment whereby said design may be reproduced on the body of the wearer by the sun rays striking the body through the cut-out portions of said member.

2. In a device of the type described, the combination of a printing member having cut-out portions forming a predetermined design, a garment having an opening corresponding to said member, and means for releasably attaching said member in said opening in temporarily fixed position relative to said garment whereby said design may be reproduced on the body of the wearer by the sun rays striking the body through the cutout portions of said member.

3. In a device of the type described, the

combination of a printing member having cut-out portions forming a predetermined design, a close fitting garment having an opening corresponding to said member, and means for holding said member in said opening in fixed position relative to said garment whereby said member will be disposed over the same portion of the body each time the garment is worn and said design may be gradually reproduced on the body of the wearer by the sun rays repeatedly striking the body through the cut-out portions of the member.

RAYMOND L. BARKER. 

